Dora - An orangutan returns home

Bukit Tigapuluh is Indonesian for "30 hills". 
The national park is one of Sumatra's largest remaining rainforests.
It has recently become home to orangutans again.

But before classes can start, the animals have to get used to their novel surroundings from within a cage. Even Dora. She doesn't like it at all.

Cosseted, beaten and even raped.
In Indonesia and other Asian countries, 
thousands of orangutans are at the mercy of humans.

The big day has finally arrived.
It's time to leave the cage and head into the forest.
Piggyback style.
Dora doesn't like getting her feet wet.

The next class is nest building.
Every night, in order to protect against
parasites and foes, such as snakes,
orangutans make a new nest to sleep in.
But Dora prefers hers to be ready-made.

The rain is coming down in sheets.
Classes are cancelled for the day.

Back at the station, the next ape meal is being prepared: papaya wrapped in banana leaves.
The animals need to learn to work for their fruit.

Bananas
Mangos
Papayas
Durians
Figs
Lychees
Jackfruit
Nuts
Bark
Flowers and leaves
Honey
Termites and other insects

But playing and cuddling are best of all.

After a year, Dora's time in the forest school is over.

They walk deep into the forest,
looking for the ideal place to reintroduce her.

Now Dora has to get to know
the other animals in the forest.

Dora has to fend for herself.
Her new life has begun.

The Indonesian rainforest is being cut down at a faster rate than almost anywhere else in the world.
Tropical wood is in demand.

But palm oil is in even greater demand.
It is produced from the fruit of oil palms.
Indonesia is the largest global producer.
Areas where rainforests once stood
have been turned into sprawling monocultures.

Curiosity soon gets the better of Dora.
She likely heard Peter a while before she appeared.
She's now eight years old and much bigger.
But she's still very trusting.

Peter and Andhani keep an eye on all of the reintroduced animals. It's considered a real success when the orangutans reproduce in the wild.

Rimbani has been living in the wild for years. 
She regularly returns to the area around the station
to show off her son, Radja.

Alda is 23 years old,
pregnant and doesn't know where to go.
Life in the wild is clearly not really her thing.
She hangs in a tree all day waiting to be fed.

Orangutan means forest man.
The apes in Bukit Tigapuluh come from everywhere.
Because each one has a unique past,
they are all at different stages of their development.

In five years time, Dora will be old enough
to have a baby. We'll be back to see how she's doing.